FIA F1 - Drivers Hail 'Spectacular' Circuit Of The Americas
Venue

F1 AUSTIN, Nov. 15, 2012: Superlatives were the order of the day when
six Formula 1 drivers faced the first official press conference of the
first FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX at Austin’s Circuit of The
Americas Thursday.

Among them was Fernando Alonso, the Ferrari star who is gunning for his
third drivers’ world title this weekend with Ferrari. “The
track seems spectacular, very, very nice, it will be challenging for us
drivers and for the engineers as well,” said the 31-year-old
Spaniard.

Like most of the 24-driver field, Alonso, a three-time winner in 2012,
already ‘knows’ the circuit thanks to technology. “We did
some simulator programs after Singapore,” explained Alonso,
“then we started getting a little bit more intense this
week.”

Alonso also resorted to a less sophisticated method: “We also did
two laps on the bicycle and hope to do some more this afternoon,” he
added. “I think it will be a good show for everybody and hopefully
some good overtaking opportunities around the track so it can be a really
good weekend.”

Another F1 world champion, Lewis Hamilton, agreed: “It’s
quite difficult to learn initially but it looks fantastic to drive,”
said the Englishman who is going into his second-last race with the McLaren
Mercedes team. “I really started to enjoy it once I got used to it
– it took perhaps a little bit longer than some other circuits to
learn, but it’s going to be very interesting this weekend.”

Alonso’s title rival, Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel, was a
little more circumspect: “We have to wait until we get out [on track]
until we have a judgement on how the circuit feels,” said the
reigning champion. “It looks quite interesting but it’s the
feeling inside the car which I think is most important so I’m looking
forward to tomorrow.”

Veteran Pedro de la Rosa of the HRT team acknowledged the challenge that
lies ahead on the 3.4-mile Texas track.

“It looks like a very difficult track with very big gradient
changes and most of the corners are blind,” said De la Rosa, whose
team’s future is in some doubt with the news this week that it is up
for sale. “It’s going to be difficult and challenging.

Kimi Raikkonen, winner of the last Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi for Lotus,
just got into Austin and couldn’t offer an opinion, but Sergio Perez summed it up neatly: “I walked
the track and it’s amazing,” said the